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How to Read Your Gas Bill

What do you do when your gas bill arrives? Go over it with a fine-toothed comb to make sure the charges are all correct? Or do you skim it, uncertain what all the numbers mean, and sigh when you see the total?

If you’re in the second group, you’re in good company. Reading your gas bill isn’t always as easy as it should be, but once you know what you’re looking for, it will start to make sense. Today’s guide will help you decipher your gas bill.

Key Points

Gas bills vary depending on the energy company. Most contain the same core information but the layout may differ.

Page one of the gas bill usually has information about your account details, payment due, and due date.

Page two (sometimes page three) of the gas bill usually breaks down the details of how your amount owing was calculated. This is where you’ll find details about your meter read, usage, and supply charges.

We’ve put together a sample gas bill to give you an idea of what you’re looking at. Your bill may not look exactly like this, but most gas bills will contain similar information. Simply match the number on the bill with the number in the sidebar to learn more about a section.

Page 1 of Your Gas Bill

The first page of your gas bill usually contains information about your account details and payment summary. This is where you can find out your account number and how much you owe for the billing period.

Some bills will also include average usage statistics and compare them to the same period from the previous year.

Mr Luke Savealot24 Australia Drive Sydney, NSW 2000

Enquiries: 131 456 Faults and emergencies: 131 789

1

Customer Account Details

Customer number

00000000

Account number

12345678

Issue date

2 April 2018

Amount due if paid after due date:

$309.45

Amount due with discount if paid by due date:

$297.11

Due Date

23 April 2018

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2

Payment Summary

Opening balance

$250.67

Payment received

$250.67CR

Balance carried forward

$0.00

Usage and supply charges (incl. GST $28.10)

$309.45

Total amount due (incl GST $28.10)

$309.45

4% discount if you pay by the due date

$11.25

Total amount due with discount (incl GST $27.10)

$297.11

3

Usage summary

Average daily cost $2.52

Average daily usage98.77 kWh

Same time last year 87.39 kWh

4

Customer account details
This is where you’ll find the details of your account, like the account holder’s name and number. This information is useful if you need to contact the billing department with questions. You may also get a quick snapshot of the amount due and the due date.

5

Payment summary
Next is the payment summary. This is a breakdown of the amount you owe on your account. If you have any amount owing from a previous bill, it will be added to your total due.

Many energy companies offer a pay-on-time discount. If so, the discount amount is usually shown here as an incentive to pay on time.

6

Usage summary
The usage summary is a useful tool in keeping track of your historical usage data. You can see how much gas you’re using on average, as well as how much gas was used during the same time period in the previous year.

Page 2 of Your Gas Bill

The second page is where most bills get into the nitty gritty of how you are being charged. This is where you’ll see your meter readings and your tariff to get a clear picture of how your bill is calculated. Page two is where things tend to get complicated, so we’ll clear that up for you.

Supply address: This is the address where the gas is supplied. Supply period: This is the period you are being billed for, and the period for which the meter reading was taken.

Meter identification: You may see one of these acronyms on your bill. They are a way of identifying your gas meter, and they stand for the following:

MIRN = Meter Installation Registration Number

NMI = National Metering Identifier

DPI = Delivery Point Identifier

Energy Plan: This is the gas tariff or plan you are on with your energy company

Meter Read: This tells you the type of meter read. An actual read means that someone physically read your meter. An estimated read is based on previous usage at the property, and is given if your meter could not be accessed.

The equation shown is the formula for calculating a megajoule (MJ), which is the standard measurement of gas for billing purposes.

5

Gas charges
Here is where you’ll see your usage in MJ multiplied by your cents per MJ charge. This section may appear differently depending on your tariff, however you can expect to see a usage charge and a supply charge.

The usage charge is a reflection of how much gas you use during the billing period.

The supply charge is a fixed fee for supplying gas to your property. It is not affected by usage.

In this example, the account holder is being billed in tariff blocks, a common method of billing for gas. The first section of usage (usually peak time usage) has one rate, while the next section of usage (off-peak, for example) has a different rate. Tariff blocks may be split up by daily, monthly, or quarterly usage.

Your bill should also give you details on your next scheduled meter read.

6

Payment details
Most bills have a pre-printed payment slip at the bottom, which can be used to physically make a payment at an Australia Post outlet. There should also be information on additional methods of payment, such as BPAY or direct debit.

Still have questions? Let's talk!

Confused? Not sure if this applies to your situation? Phone us on 1300 752 041 for some free, no obligation advice.